The 20186 application describes an invention for the non-invasive in vivo detection and localization of abnormal blood flow. Embodiments of that invention display the spatial distribution of phase coherence in the shear eave component of blood flow signals generated by an acoustic sensor array. An essentially uniform display indicates normal blood flow. A non-uniform display may indicate the presence of an occlusion and the presence or extent of abnormal, turbulent blood flow. Poor correlation of signals from the array sensors may adversely affect the display uniformity.
Acoustic sensor arrays are conventionally positioned above a measurement area defined as the hairless human chest skin located vertically between the sternum and a parallel line passing through the left nipple and horizontally 10 cm above and 6 cm below the left and right nipples.
A prior art acoustic sensor array comprising eight equally spaced sensors in two concentric circles having prime numbers of sensors in each circle and a ninth sensor at the common center of the concentric circle is illustrated by FIG. 6 of the 20186 application.
To reach sensors in a conventionally positioned prior art array as described in the 20186 application, sound waves must travel either directly through lung tissue or first to the body surface and then laterally with consequent attenuation of correlation. A study of the correlation by that array of patient data signals generated by the quiet interval revealed that only four or five of the nine sensors are well correlated.
It is known that a notch ("cardiac notch") in the human left lung allows the heart to be in contact with the chest wall. Well correlated blood flow signals may be generated by acoustic sensors positioned on a human chest in a small area ("acoustic window") located above the cardiac notch. The bounds of the acoustic window have been approximated by ultrasonic probe means as described in this application and by locating the portions of sensor corresponding to channels achieve the highest apparent signal to noise ratio (SNR) as described in the Stearns application.